Many children enter the special education system as preschoolers, making it an ideal time to analyze and strengthen early childhood program and services.
ECA uses a mixed method data collection process to evaluate current early childhood special education systems and service delivery by…
- Examining assessment tools and eligibility processes
- Analyzing IEP development and implementation of functional goals
- Assessing placement in the least restrictive environments
Using the latest research and guidance from the Departments of ED and HHS, and OSEP Child Outcomes; ECA has helped school districts with…
- Continued quality improvement efforts for preschool classrooms with emphasis on supporting children with disabilities through enhanced access, participation, and supports
- Reducing the amount of time children spend in substantially separate programs and pull out services
The expertise ECA brings to this process…
Linda Warren has a doctorate in Early Childhood and Special Education with a secondary focus on Educational Research. She has experience as a pupil personnel services director and a special education teacher. She taught in the Special Education Department at the University of Hawaii and Wheelock College. Other districts have benefited from her evaluations and recommendations.
Ann Ramminger was part of the UW Madison Waisman Center, a Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. She has coordinated statewide special education efforts and grants. Ann also has experience in developing collaborative relationships with community partners.
ECA Advances School Readiness in Lowell, Massachusetts
In January 2013, Early Childhood Associates began a partnership with the Lowell Public Schools and the Lowell Early Childhood Advisory Council to coordinate Lowell’s Birth to Third Grade Alignment reform efforts. ECA’s task has been to develop a cross-sector...
Sharing Strategies for Developing Competencies for PD Providers and IHE Faculty and Staff at National Smart Start Conference in May
The staff at Early Childhood Associates are a passionate bunch. One of the topics we like to “nerd out” over is how to improve the quality of professional development for the early childhood workforce. At its best, professional development improves child outcomes and...
Aligning Systems Birth to Grade Three
The goal of alignment planning is to sharpen and concretize the design and implementation of early education and care services to ensure a viable, cohesive, high quality, community-wide effort for young children. Based on our experience doing RTT-ELC (Race to the Top...
National Momentum for Early Education & Care
Happy New Year from Early Childhood Associates! January has been a busy month for our team. We thank our clients for the stimulating projects. While engrossed in our work, we have also kept an eye on national public policy. There have been two notable developments in...
ECA Conducts Change Management Process & Strategic Planning Session
Recently, ECA’s President, Dr. Linda Warren, facilitated a 2 day strategic planning sessions to increase the operating efficiencies of the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency (NMCAA) Head Start and Early Head Start programs and to develop a sustainable plan for...
ECA: 2013 Certified Vendor for Mass. Departments of EEC and ESE
ECA is pleased to announce that it has been certified as a vendor for both the Massachusetts Departments of Early Education and Care and Elementary and Secondary Education to provide PD, evaluation, data-driven assessment, curriculum alignment, mentor-coaching, and...
ECA is a Certified CLASS Observer
Interested in using the CLASS assessment for your Birth to Grade 3 Classroom? ECA is certified as a licensed observer of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System at the infant, toddler, pre-k and K-3 levels. CLASS, a tool that has been validated in thousands of...
Lowell Birth to Grade 3 Alignment Team
ECA is helping the Lowell Massachusetts Public Schools in its ongoing effort to provide ever-improving high quality of early education to children. The 2013 Birth to Grade 3 Alignment Project is targeted at supporting early education and care and public school...
ECA Awarded Michigan Core Knowledge and Core Competencies Contract
ECA recently won a nationally competitive contract to update Core Knowledge and Core Competencies for the State of Michigan’s Department of Education. ECA is reviewing and updating the CKCC to align the Michigan Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Infants and...
New Project with the Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham
ECA is also pleased to announce a new project with the Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham, Massachusetts on Birth to Grade 3 curriculum alignment.